Loni's Argyle Socks

Lovely Holiday

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:24:00 +0000

Wow, we had such a good Holiday. I can not tell you how much fun we had, it was like a party every single day! The only problem was it was far too short. Far, far too short. I feel so overwhelmingly blessed with such amazing family and friends who are just like family.

We stopped at the Grand Canyon last night, which was not a very good idea. When we got to the rim we were hit in the face with a wind that was so strong and icy that we could hardly look. Afterwards, we decided to stay in Tusayan right outside the park. We expected pricey hotels staying near a National Park like that, but $3.19 for a normally 50 cent cup of Yoplait Yogurt, $17 for a med 1-topping pizza at Pizza Hut, $3.59 for a gallon of gas when the average price elsewhere is $2.50. I've never seen price gouging like anywhere!

Funny enough about 20 minutes south of Tusayan we had the exact opposite experiance. We stopped at a quirky place called BedRock City to go to Fred's Diner this morning for breakfast. It was a very welcomed suprise. Ghetto though the place seemed at first, there was a roaring fire inside and lots of friendly locals. The food was decent (Denny's quality and portions) and half the price! Our breakfasts were an average of $3 each. Next time, we'll know where to go!

Were home now, settling in and discovering what we left behind, oops.

Food Exchange

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:41:00 +0000

I am excited for Thanksgiving. I am roasting my very first Turkey and making gravy and cranberry sauce from scratch.

I love experimenting in the Kitchen. I get bored so easily with making the same old menu items. I think experimenting with new foods is my way of introducing adventure and self-expression into everyday life.

I've been having fun lately with Middle Eastern Flavored Dishes. I am drawn to them particularly because they have so much flavor and nutrition.

Z is sick, so we won't be having our neighbors over for Thanksgiving like planned. Instead we are going to do a food exchange, making all the same dishes we divvied up in the first place and exchanging portions of them. Not ideal, but Z has a virus and they have a newborn so what do you do? This way we'll all still have a good meal.

I deleted all my sidebar info. Not purposefully, but I don't know anything about html and I either had to keep the last template (which I did not like) or erase my stuff. I suppose it's motivation to get a new blog. I've been thinking about that for ages, we'll see if it ever happens.

6 Years...

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:54:00 +0000

I had a fantastic Anniversary celebration recently. Hubby did so good. He hates surprises and I love them. Let me re-phrase that. He hates surprises when he knows that a surprise is coming. When he doesn't know it's coming, he loves it.

So what usually ends up happening is; I surprise him all the time and he surprises me...never. Even when he has previously tried to surprise me and he has made really great efforts, something always happens to ruin it.

So this year I told him it was his turn to plan something for us to do. He kept it a secret until the morning of and told me that we were going to a very chic restaurant and then hiking up to some hot springs. I thought that sounded fun and he did keep it a secret until the day of.

That night after an incredible dinner, we started walking downtown chatting away. I thought it was strange to be walking downtown, but I just said "I assume you know where you're going." Then he said "Well, it's kinda cold for the hot springs don't you thing? Would you be mad if we didn't go?" I told him that was okay and asked him what he wanted to do instead. He said "Oh, I don't know, I wonder what these people are doing" referring to a crowd gathering near the town hall, "Maybe we could do whatever they're doing."

I looked up and in a split-second a bunch of tiny little thoughts pieced together perfectly and I realized that he did it! He finally, really, truly surprised me! He had planned all along to take me on the City Ghost Tour, which was something I really wanted to do, but didn't think we ever could because it's too late for Z. I was so pleased with his surprise and so proud that he actually pulled it off!

Inspired by a friend who recently had her anniversary, I wanted to post some photos.This first one was one of our engagement photos. (by Brenda Manookin)

This was one of my fun Bridals. I did have a more normal photo taken in my dress by Brent's sister, and it was gorgeous, but other than a few low-quality scans, I lost all her pics when our computer crashed a few years ago. (by Brenda Manookin)
(by Emily Daley)
The morning outside the Temple. (by Emily Daley)
The museum where we had our reception. (by Brenda Manookin)
I Loved our cake! (by Brenda Manookin)
It's just a snapshot, but I love this photo of my father and I. (by Karen Stauffer)
(by Karen Stauffer)
(by Brenda Manookin)

Same Page

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:25:00 +0000

In Church yesterday, one of the speakers started off by telling a little about themselves and their history. Their family had lived in Norway, Germany, Italy, England, South Korea and six different states. (and I think I even missed a country) Brent and I were stunned and simultaneously whispered "Wow" to each other. Then Brent added "I am so jealous". I nodded with a smile and whispered "And I so married the right man."

Later that night, the speakers of the day came up again and Brent said "I want to live out of the country again so badly I can hardly stand it." Hearing him say that was like music to my ears. I think somehow it makes me feel better knowing that he shares the exact same sentiment on the subject that I do and that it is not just me somehow dragging him along. Not that I ever thought it was, but it's just good to know that we are on the same page. Exactly the same page.

My family moved a great deal when I was younger and I remember being envious of people who had lived in the same house their whole life, grown-up with the same people. They never had to worry about saying goodbye and leaving people behind. They never had to worry about being the new kid and making new friends. They could walk around their home and be in the same place where so many, many memories were made. What a wonderful thing that would be. I think about my life and in some ways I envy those who have now what I envied then. It would be nice to be settled. To not have to worry about what's happening next. To have a yard! There are many reasons why that would be so nice. And I am certain that if that was the path our lives had taken I would be happy about all of those things and we would be content as a family because we were together.

At the same time however, when I really think about it, I can also see living life on that road as extremely challenging for me. I think at times I would be downright miserable because of it. At this point in my life I find that I thrive on adventure and change. Three years sounds like the perfect amount of time to live in one place. I love meeting new people and I think exploring a place I've never been might just be my favorite thing in the whole wide world. I too want to live outside the country again so badly I can hardly stand it. I'm sure a time will come when I am fed up and just want to settle down, but I hope that until that time comes we can stay on a path in life that leads us to many different places and many different people.

Camera Magically Working Again

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:37:00 +0000

We got our camera working. I got some pictures of the blossoms before they all fell off.

This is our new truck.
This is our amazingly adorable, extremely enthusiastic little trick-or-treater.
This is the first time I have ever gotten Brent to "Dress Up". He was E-Male and I was his Attachment.
I know the shadows are bad, but this is our apartment.
Our Balcony.
Coming in the front door.
Looking back on the living room.
The Kitchen.
Bathroom.
Other side of the bathroom and laundry closet.
Z's room.

That's all I've got for now. The only room that isn't really in there is our room because it is still not entirely unpacked and not much to see anyway. I've had a lot of requests for pictures, so I hope you've enjoyed them.

Blossoms in October?

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:03:00 +0000

I am so bummed that we don't have a camera right now. When we arrived at the beginning of the month, the bushes that line our apartments were green. In the past week or so they have transformed. Not in the typical autumn way; losing their leaves or changing colors, but they are now covered in lovely purple blossoms! Don't things normally bloom in spring? Maybe this particular bush blossoms multiple times throughout the year. I'm not sure, and I don't care, I LOVE seeing blossoms in October!

There are so many things I would take pictures of if I had a camera, but I don't so here are some pictures of what we've been up to over the last while.

These two were taken on Z's special day/swim day at her pre-school.

Brenda came to town just a few days before Brent left. We hung out a lot, it took the edge off of the initial sting of having Brent gone.Allie came down to visit and Mish came out too.

Z and I got to meet Milo for the first time. If you can't tell, Z loved him.
Seriously? You did this with a tootsie roll?I used to go camping and backpacking all the time, but Z put a little kink in the works when she constantly tried to drown herself in lakes and rivers or give me regular heart attacks by getting lost in the slightest mili-second. She was finally old enough to take camping, so we had fun with that this summer.

We drove out to Georgia for a month to see Brent, spend time with family out there, and be there for Brent's graduation. We stayed with my Aunt Cynthia. She pulled out some old Playmobil's and completely sold me on them. Playmobil's are so awesome, even I had fun playing with them and Z loved them too of course.
Cynthia has one dog, two cats and was babysitting her son's kitten. Z fell in love with all the animals. I think the best part for her was no longer being at the bottom of the totem pole. She had so much fun taking responsibility for feeding, walking, or letting them outside to go to the bathroom. It really made me want to get some sort of a pet for her, but not enough to actually do it...yet.

She wanted to go to sleep in her make-shift "Cat house".

Playing "Bears" with Aunt Cynthia in their cave.

Brent in his ACU's (Army Combat Uniform).
We had just pinned Brent's officer bars on his uniform following his graduation.

Aunt Cynthia is on the left, I don't know what I would have done without her. I couldn't even begin to name the things she has done for me, and how much I love and appreciate her for it.

Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:15:00 +0000

Have you ever had a song that you just LOVED? You loved it so much that you could just not stop listening to it. Sometimes 3, 4, 5 times in a row. You listen to it often, in fact, so often that suddenly you find yourself sick of it and you don't want to listen to it anymore.

I think that is what happened to me and blogging. I think. I don't know, I just suddenly didn't want to write anymore. Maybe it was that. It might have been some other things too. I have wondered if it was the emotional difficulty of Brent being gone. It also might have been (I think I mentioned something like this before) the feeling of stagnation that I unfortunately allowed to penetrate other area's of my life. I don't know what it was, but I'm not over it yet. Although, I did want to write a little catch up.

Brent left for Basic Training in April. In June I had a wonderful, yet entirely too short weekend with him where I was able to see his Basic graduation and then drive him from Ft. Jackson, S.C. to Ft. Benning, Georgia.

In August, I packed up my daughter and spent 6 days on the road with her out to Georgia to stay with my Wonderful Aunt Cynthia who lives near Ft. Benning for the last three weeks of Brent's Officer Candidate School (OCS). I was able to go to a few social events with Brent and attend his graduation which was very nice. Much more like an actual graduation than his Basic graduation. Then we drove back to Utah just in the nick of time (we left one day before all the flooding and closed freeways).

We have been spending time with family and friends around Utah and taking care of business and preparing for our move to Arizona.

The news of Arizona was somewhat anti-climatic. We were pretty sure that we would be in Arizona for Brent's training, but we were anxiously awaiting Brent's Orders to see where we would be after his training. Most of the other soldiers in Brent's class had their permanent station on their orders, but we got zilch. All we know is that we will be in Arizona for Brent's training until August of next year. 10 months ahead of time is pretty good, and it normally wouldn't bother me, it's just that we were expecting to discover where our permanent station will be and were severly disappointed.

Part of the problem is that although I have desperately tried not to get my hopes up, it has been in vain, because I cannot stop thinking that we will go somewhere overseas. I keep trying to get myself pumped up for some miserable Fort in Middle of Nowhere, USA, but it's just not working. I was hoping that getting Brent's orders would put me out of my misery as I wait to see if it's going to happen, but they didn't.

Oh well, I am focusing on contenting myself with the present and I really am looking forward to our time in Arizona.

"Hope of Intellectual Transformation in Africa"

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:14:00 +0000

This post is a request to everyone who reads it for ideas. Does anyone know of a charity or other organization or resource that could help a South African student finish his education? Please help me network and re-post this on your blog or ask those around you for ideas. Any help in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

Some of you may remember a post I wrote a while ago called "Sheltered". It was about a man named Michael who has become a dear friend. My last post about him was my expression of shock over his relation of life as a Black Man in South Africa, and the extraordinary ways in which he has overcome his circumstances. He has an amazing disposition and outlook on life. He has worked so hard and sacrificed so much to get where he is. He funded his first College diploma using all the money he earned while working at a vegetable market and surviving on rotten or damaged vegetables given to him by his employer. He and his wife had to leave their two children 6 and 2 with family in order to come out for his studies in England. At times they were surviving on one slice of bread per day. Yet they never complained, and I didn't even know about the extreme difficulties they endured until months afterward when they had finally come out of them.

In 2007, he was recognized by the Nelson Mandela Foundation as a promising teacher and scholar. As the Headmaster of the school where he works, this extraordinary man is an example both to the students of his school as well as many others around him. He is trying to show his children, his students and his community that education is a priority and the catalyst for change. He is now and will continue to make significant contributions to the African educational system. He is in his second year of a Post Graduate Degree in Education and has run into trouble with funding. He has had to put his degree on hold. He wrote me an email requesting help in researching potential resources in the U.S. that could assist him in finishing his degree. I've been looking, but everything I seem to find is designed for students studying here in the States.

So again, if you know of any avenues that I can look into that might be able to help him, please let me know.

I recommend following the link at the top, to my other post and reading more about Michael.

**Note: He does not qualify for the Perpetual Education Fund.

In Case You Were Wondering

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sun, 17 May 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I was grateful that this five month separation timed out to be over the summer, because there is a lot to do here in the summer. I also decided to help things along and signed Z up for a new community class every month. This month she is in tumbling, next month she has a martial arts class, in July it's swimming and for August, I bought passes to a place called Jumping Jacks, so we can just go whenever.

I have also been keeping a very close eye on community events. Yesterday there was free admission and half price passes to Jumping Jacks with free food and stuff. Today at the library, they had a book festival with puppet shows, readings, face painting, crafts, workshops, book signings and a free book for every child there.

The Farmer's Market is 4 blocks from my parents house. Last week they had a May Pole with live fiddling to dance around it as we untied the ribbons. (I've always wondered exactly what a May Pole entailed) It was so festive.

I've decided that I really love Provo. There are loads of things to do around here if you're looking for them. It's a college town, but it is a unique college town because a higher percentage of the students have started families, so it is also extremely family friendly. There are lots of trees, majestic mountains, old neighborhoods filled with homes full of character. I love Center Street. Academy Square, The Tabernacle and City Hall are all beautiful buildings. I could go on, but in short, I am glad I am here for now.

I set out to be extremely busy and that is exactly what I am. Almost too much sometimes, there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. It's gets a little annoying sometimes, but that is what I wanted and I am grateful. I would much rather be too busy than not busy enough. Whenever things slow down my thoughts turn to Brent.

Being busy helps, but my Faith has helps even more. I had a very interesting experience the day Brent left. Up until that point, whenever I thought about Brent leaving, I was overwhelmed with tears. Early in the morning of the day he left, we went to the Temple. As we were driving home from the Temple I felt so incredibly peaceful and happy. It was strange for me because I knew in a matter of hours that he would be leaving me. I knew this event would be the beginning of a very difficult period of my life. I knew I would miss him to the point of physical pain. But despite all that, I was happy.

That is probably the best description of what it has been like since he has left. It has been EXTREMELY challenging, but I am happy. As I have focused on my dedication to the lord, my burdens have been made light. Not that they are taken away, or made any less difficult, but I have received strength and peace so that I may bear them well.

Brent has also been doing well. I am envious of all the new skills and information he is acquiring. It sounds fascinating to me and I can't wait until we have time to really talk so I can hear more about it. I get to talk to him once a week for about 2 to 5 minutes. As you can imagine, I don't get much information out of him in that amount of time. But he said that Basic Training is pretty much what he expected. He got into shape before he went and the physical demands have not been much of a challenge for him. He said he got into trouble a few weeks ago for showering early. He was afraid he had made the drill sergeant's trouble list, but the very next week he was given the privilege of being Platoon Leader. He also said he was amazed that they could be so busy and yet still spend so much time waiting around for things. I definitely don't envy that.

I bought a ticket to South Carolina for his Basic Graduation at the end of June. I will fly in on Wednesday night. Thursday is Family Day where I go to a bunch of Army programs designed to show families what their soldier has experienced. Then I get to spend the rest of the day with Brent on post. The next day, his graduation is at 9am and we should have the rest of the day together on or off post. He will probably ship out Saturday morning, but I purchased a ticket that won't bring me home until late Saturday night just in case I can see him on Saturday too. If not, I'll spend the day exploring Columbia or Greensville. I CAN'T WAIT. It is nice that we can break up his time away with a visit. It gives me a short-term goal to look forward to.

5 favorites

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Fri, 15 May 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Rachel over at Life In Pictures tagged me for this ages ago, and I completely forgot, but I'm bored and waiting for something so here we go.

5 favorite TV Shows

1. The Office
2. Chuck
3. My Name is Earl
4. 30 Rock
5. George Lopez (cheezy, but funny and reminds me of growing up in Southern California)

5 things I did yesterday

1. Went to the Gym
2. Did Babysitting/Temple trade off with my sister-in-law
3. Bought a recommended Allergy remedy from the health food store
4. Came home to a fantastic dinner courtesy of my father
5. Wrote Brent an extremely long letter

5 favorite restaurants

(I don't really have a favorite, I really prefer to go to a new restaurant every time we go out. Below is a list of places with food I find myself craving.)

1. The Bombay House
2. Thai Chili Pepper
3. Zupas
4. Wingers (I can't get enough of their sauce)
5. Bajios

5 things on my wish list (at the moment)

1. Brent
2. Corrective Laser Eye Surgery
3. A New Wardrobe
4. New Cameras (Video and Still)
5. A new perfume that I LOVE. (I have a hard time finding scents that I like. Any suggestions?)

If you feel like doing this, then you're tagged.

New Family Picture

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:36:00 +0000

We had a monumentally busy extended weekend, leading up to Monday when we dropped Brent off at a hotel in SLC to fly out from there for Basic. Contemplating it all enough to write about it is not something I care to do right now, but I felt like I should say something.

I've been pretty exhausted for most of this week. I am quitting my job, which is an unexpected relief. Unexpected because it's been a great job and I'm leaving (for several reasons) a lot sooner than I actually expected. But I'm relieved and actually kinda trunky; now that I know I'm leaving I'm ready to be done and move on. I am going to enroll Zariah in a bunch of summer community classes and take her hiking and maybe even camping this summer as much as I can. I just want to do TONS of fun Utah summer stuff to keep us busy.

In other really good news; Brenda is in town! Yea! She has Fabulous timing to boot. She came just in time to catch Brent and get us a new family picture! Woohoo! She is so awesome in so many ways, and I'm so glad she's here.

It's Official

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:56:00 +0000

The last six months have been one big roller coaster ride. I know I've only hinted at what sort of jobs we've been looking into, but after two experiences of counting our eggs before they're hatched, I promised myself I wouldn't tell anyone about any more jobs until it was official. Well, something finally happened and now it's official. But first, a short run down of the last six months.

September: Accept job in Taiwan, discover they lied about salary, turn job down. Start turning in applications everywhere.

October: Continue turning in applications to any and every job we can find. Find a fantastic position with the Utah State Legislature where Brent had his internship before we left for England that he absolutely LOVED. He already knew the people he would be working with and had an extremely positive response from the Legislator in charge of hiring. He was even more qualified than they were asking for and was a shoe in for the position.

November: I start working at a nearby office. We discover that due to budget cuts nobody will be hired for awesome job with Legislature. Brent starts vigorously pursuing applications with the Border Patrol and Air Force as well as continuing to submit applications everywhere else.

Late November: Brent picks up a seasonal job to hold us over. Air Force isn't looking like a possibility because the time line wouldn't have Brent into training, until August 2009 and we can't wait that long!!! The Border Patrol is looking like our only option.

December: Brent decides to talk to an Army Recruiter. We feel surprisingly good about the Army option and decide to pursue it and see what happens.

January: Brent turns down a job with the Border Patrol with my blessing (don't get me started)

Late January: Brent applies to become an Army Officer and is turned down. (Two of the three members of the Officer Board said "yes" one was unsure and left his recommendation blank)

February: One can only apply to become an Officer twice, ever. The whole month is spent going back and forth between; "Should we just go enlisted now and apply again later with a different Officer Board?" or "Should we take our chances at winning over the third board member?" After going back and forth on the issue all month, as well as encountering several minor hold ups, we decided to take our chances with the Board on March 4th and see what happens.

March 4th: Brent goes before the Officer Board and after seeing improvement in is Physical test scores and asking about three questions, he is approved.

March 5th: I accompany Brent to SLC for the day as he goes through paperwork, signs the contract and is sworn into the United States Army.

Another reason I didn't write about any of this is because we had no idea what was going to happen until the day before it actually happened. Now to address why we decided to go ahead with the Army in the first place despite some obvious drawbacks.

First and foremost, when Brent came home after talking to an Army recruiter for the first time and told me about the options within the Army, I felt really good about it. Unexpectedly and surprisingly good about it. I don't take those feelings lightly.

Other strong benefits to the Army:

Brent will go in as an Officer, meaning right off the bat he will receive three months of intensive leadership training and secret clearance. Both of which will be valuable in future career goals. Going Officer also means, from what we've heard, significantly better treatment, significantly better pay, better housing, and all around better life for all of us. It is also a professional work experience which is something he is lacking and something that everyone wants.
The Army will pay off up to $65,000 in student loans which we desperately need. With the Officer pay and the CLRP (College Loan Repayment Program), we should be completely debt free in 4 to 5 years. When we would have normally been paying on our current debts for anywhere from 20-35 years.
On top of Salary we get a housing and food stipend and will be completely covered as far as insurance and retirement goes.
There are a limited number of overseas bases or we might have put all 10 of our desired locations overseas. We submitted our top five desired locations as; Belgium, Italy, Germany, Japan and Korea. Of those five the most likely place we would go is Korea, but we would be thrilled to go to any of them. We would like to continue to live in other countries, but doing it through the Army who will take care of travel and moving arrangements is way better than cramming all our stuff into 6 suitcases or paying through the nose to have it transported. Not to mention being able to live in a completely foreign country on or near an American community with American conveniences close by sounds ideal.

There are strong down-sides of course beginning with a 5 month separation while he is in training, eventual deployment and the risks involved with that. We had some lengthy discussions about that up front. We came to terms with the risks and trials involved with Brent's joining the Army. We will deal with them as they come.

I am also working really hard not to have any expectations besides Brent's Salary and the CLRP. We don't know exactly what job they will give him within the Army. We may never go overseas. The initial 5 months could be longer. Who knows how long is deployment will be. In the end we decided that even if all we gain from the Army is work experience, leadership experience and a sound financial situation, we'll be happy.

So, we are excited and happy with our decision. Brent ships out mid-April to Ft. Jackson South Carolina. From there he will go on to Ft. Benning, Georgia. I am hoping I'll be able to work out seeing him at least once in both places. Meanwhile, Zariah and I will continue to stay with my parents and join him in August/September. By that time it will have been almost a year of living with my parents. I don't think this next 6 months will be nearly as frustrating as the first 6, simply because there is an end in sight. We are now officially moving toward a goal instead of floating in limbo. That makes it easier already to relish the time we have to spend here.

So there you have it. I would love to hear your response.

Checkin in

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:00:00 +0000

So I've obviously been taking a break from the Blogging world. Like I mentioned before, I've been a little uninspired because of the whole waiting thing. Most all of my extra time, thoughts and energy are diverted to what is going to happen next. But on top of that I've also started a job which means less time and because I'm in front of a computer the whole time I'm at work, I've kind of lost the desire to be on the computer as much at home.

I'll still write once in a while. In fact Brent is pretty close to getting a job we've been working on for a few months. So I'll post all about that once it's certain.

Just checkin in.

Baby's Gotta Go

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:37:00 +0000

For weeks whenever anyone asked Zoe what she wanted for Christmas she would exclaim "A PEE-PEE TRAINING DOLL!". She had, of course, seen a commercial for this doll. After quite a bit of discussion, Brent and I decided not to buy it for her because although she would be really excited at first, I have to wonder how long it would keep her entertained. There are also a lot of small pieces that I didn't think would be very fun to keep track of.

When my mother began asking what Zariah might like for Christmas I told her about several toys I thought she might enjoy, but my mother had already seen how much she wanted it and asked if it was okay to buy her the "Pee-Pee Training Doll". I figured, who am I to deny my mother the kind of reaction that she knows she will get when my little girl opens this particular present on Christmas Morning?

You've got to check out the commercial for this thing. It's hilarious, in a kinda messed up way.

Now that I think about it, I am almost just as interested to see my Grandmother's reaction to this doll. She has always had a HUGE collection of dolls. She particularly loves dolls with personality. If there's one thing this doll has, it's personality!

Now You Tell Us!

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:36:00 +0000

The other day there was a story in the news; "If your a student, you had probably better stay in school." Yeah, tell me about it. It's still a little hard not to get frustrated sometimes, but I just remind myself that we have so much to be grateful for I can't complain.

Every night when it's time for bed and I take Zoe in to say good night to my parents, my dad plays a game with her where he tries to keep her from giving him a kiss. She laughs and laughs and it makes me so unbelievably happy.

We finally bought a car. It's been about a year and four months too long that we've had to rely on public transit and the kindness of others to get around. It is so incredibly nice to have our own car again. It's a 2000 Chevy Prizm in a deep pretty blue color that reminds me of evening twilight, so we named her Twyla.

It has been interesting working again. I am extremely fortunate to have found a job that is so close and is such a nice little company to work for. Brent's seasonal job is working him extra hard during the holidays (of course) and it has been interesting trying to juggle our schedules. Thank goodness for wonderful family that has been so very helpful when we have schedule conflicts.

To Clarify

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:34:00 +0000

Just a little clarification about my last post. I was particularly addressing the claim of "I hate Christmas because it's so fake". My arguments were not attempting to claim that everyone should love Christmas like I do. I'm sure there are perfectly legitimate reasons why some people hate Christmas. As for us, Brent and I have always had very fond memories of Christmas. We both have wonderful relationships with our family. Nothing tragic has ever happened at that time of year for me and I can't even imagine how my feelings might change if something ever did. I wish that everyone could experience the same joy and happiness that I do over the Holidays, but I know that's not possible.

Speaking of Christmas, I really love being a mooch at this point in time. Staying with my parents makes memories of childhood Christmas' even more vivid and I love sharing my daughter and her excitement with my parents and watching them enjoy her as much as we do.

The day my dad put up the Christmas Tree. Zariah kept asking if we could hold hands and sing around the tree when it was up. How could I deny a request like that? We sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" She was swaying and everything, it was so funny. Then it was time for me to go to work. When I came home Zariah saw me and screamed "LOOOOOK!" as she ran into the Living Room. Then she bounced up and down pointing at the tree screaming "Look, Look, Look, Look" until I gave her a satisfying response of amazement.

"Christmas Is Sooo Fake"

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:24:00 +0000

I've had several people express their distaste of the holidays to me lately. Their complaints are complaints I have heard before. It all comes down to one basic claim; "Christmas is Fake".

Some of these complaints focus around a perceived Scrooge Effect. It makes them sick to see people who are jerks most of the year, suddenly become angelic because it's Christmas. My first response is that whoever makes this argument watches too many movies. I have never seen the Scrooge Effect happen anywhere but in Christmas stories and folklore.

Even if the Scrooge Effect was a real and regular occurrence, they must be assuming that the person is insincere because I fail to comprehend the sickness that accompanies observing an event that prompts someone to get in touch with their humanity and become more Christ-like. I imagine it would be a beautiful thing to witness. If the person was insincere, something so drastic wouldn't be happening in the first place.

Another angle to the "Christmas is Fake" argument is that it is too commercialized. Well of course it is. Everything is commercialized these days. Just don't get caught up in it. Just because there are some people who have lost sight of what Christmas is about doesn't mean that everyone else has. And even if everyone else has, it doesn't mean you have to. That would be my response for the other similar argument that Christmas has lost it's meaning.

I'm sure there are many legitimate reasons why some people dislike Christmas, but when people talk about disliking Christmas because it's "so Fake", i just don't buy it. In my opinion, it's only fake if you allow it to be or make it that way.

Five years ago...

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:05:00 +0000

Five years ago tomorrow, I made the best decision I have ever made in my entire life. Since then my life has been happier beyond anything I ever imagined. I can't get over how I ever came to be so lucky or deserving of the man I married. He is perfect for me in every possible sense of the word. We are going back to the Salt Lake City Temple tomorrow for the first time since we were married there five years ago.
There was a blizzard the day of our wedding. It was magical day in a winter wonderland. I am thrilled to celebrate our anniversary of it.

New Job

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:53:00 +0000

I guess it's about time I put some argyle up on the background. My sis sent me a link for this, and I couldn't resist.

So in case you haven't noticed, I've been continuously posting less and less. I guess I kind of feel uninspired in our state of stagnation. NOTHING has changed as far as a permanent job for hubby goes. The job at the state legislature responded and let us know that due to budget cuts, they wouldn't be hiring for the position at all. I guess it's a bad time to be a recent graduate with no experience looking for a job. Oh well. Something will come.

Meanwhile, I am actually working. I got a part-time job with the most awesome schedule! I work 5 days a week from 12 to 4. I think it is the closest I could ever get to being a stay at home mom while still working. I'm in an office doing customer service and data entry. It is a very small company and the people I work with make it enjoyable. Brent also got a temporary job for the holidays. I want to post about a few permanent possibilities we're working on, but I've decided not to because I don't want there to be any chance whatsoever, that someone might stumble across my blog and have it affect his chances at obtaining a position. I know the chances of that are next to impossible, but still.

So I guess that's it for now. My lips are dry and I gotta go.

Will You Help Me Find My Bed?

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 10:53:00 +0000

It is 5a.m. and I've been laying in bed, trying to sleep for the last hour. I give up. I was awoken at 4a.m. by a very distraught little girl with the most heart breaking cries. I welcomed her into my bed to soothe her and the first thing she said when she climbed in was "Mommy, I want to sleep in my own bed." I figured she didn't really know what she was talking about and if I could just get here to lay down she would calm down and fall asleep. But she resisted all efforts to coax her into laying down, repeating "I want to sleep in my own bed Mommy" in between sobs. Finally I said "Okay, go back to bed" and her response was clearly traumatic. As she related the following, her little voice got higher and higher until the last word she said was so high it broke and sobbing ensued "Will you help me find it? I-got-out-of-bed-and-I-coul-dn't-find-it." Papa came to the rescue on this and scooped her up promising to help her find her bed.

So here I am. I haven't written much lately. Nothing has changed as far as the Job situation is concerned and I guess I just feel like life is at a stand still. I am trying to get out of that frame of mind that just because we're not moving forward in that one area, doesn't mean we can't be productive or progressing in other areas. But it's been difficult. It really seems like there isn't much that we can do. We can't even really unpack completely.

Brent got on with a temp service that worked him to the bone the first few weeks and hasn't had any work since. He has been keeping busy studying for a few government positions that require exams and keeping up an intense job search. I am quickly realizing however, that we've got to have work and we've got to have it now. So we've been applying for several random positions to tide us over. I have my first interview today. I always hated the new job/interview jitters.

As far as the professional job hunt goes, every single position he has applied for has been a government position and unfortunately, at least in our limited experience, the government takes FOREVER to hire. So we are not completely discouraged by the literal silence on the other end, just frustrated that we have been on the edge of our seats for so long.

Positive things about my life right now:
-I LOVE spending so much time with hubby
-I am very happy to be here with and able to support family
-I am thrilled that Zoe is developing strong relationships with family
-Brent and I have been exercising a lot together
-I am getting a fantastic lesson in developing patience
-I learned how to make some really amazing whole wheat bread
-We've been able to see friends and extended family we wouldn't have been able to see given less time
-The weather has been outstanding, better than our wildest expectations. We have been taking the fullest advantage.
-It is the beginning of the Holiday Season
-We get to celebrate Halloween this year! Zoe has already been to one party, we carved pumpkins for family home evening yesterday and she has two more parties this week and then Halloween night!

Book Club

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 02:06:00 +0000

While I was in England I started reading a lot more than I have in a very long time. I really enjoyed myself too. I signed up to a cool little site called GoodReads and have had fun keeping track of and reviewing the books I have read as well as keeping up a list of the books I want to read.

I really want to continue reading, but I want to make sure that if I'm reading something, that it is going to be good. I don't want to waste my time on anything ill-written, depressing or trashy. If I am going to invest my time, I want to be laughing, enlightened, educated or in short, anything but disappointed that I just wasted a certain number of hours of my life reading a book, only to find out that I hated it.

I ended up started a group/book club on the GoodReads website called Let's Read Something Good. I started the group a few months ago, but that's all I did. I didn't really think about it again until the other day someone I don't even know asked if they could join my group. She's inspired me to get moving on this, so here I am writing this post. If any of you want to do this with me I would LOVE it! All you have to do is click on the link above to join my group. If you aren't already on GoodReads you have to sign up for the website, but it's pretty painless.

There will only be one book every other month or maybe even every three months, so there is no pressure. The book can be read at leisure and readers can join in the discussion whenever they are finished.

So yeah, come join my group and read with me.

2 Options

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:40:00 +0000

Well, it's been a little while again, but that is really because there just hasn't been much to write about. At the moment (and this, of course, is always subject to change) we are hanging on two main possibilities. The first, after a lot of thought and contemplation is actually my favorite, but only by a hair. Brent applied for a job with the state legislature. He actually has a really good chance of getting this job. He had an internship there a year or so ago and one of his fellow interns has is working there now in the same capacity as the job he has applied for. We don't know how much the pay would be, but we are pretty sure it would be enough. Barely enough, but enough and the benefits would be good. We would live downtown. It is stable and actually a job that if he stuck with, he could make a career out of. I don't think he would make this job his career, but we would plan on him staying there for quite some time and it is comforting to know that he could. One of the biggest gold stars for this job is the fact that Brent LOVED his internship there and we are pretty sure he would love this job just the same. He used to come home so happy and that, of course, made me happy.

Option 2 is still Taiwan. Brent would definitely get a job in November. There are still a lot of good things about going to Taiwan. I kind of see it as an extension of Brent's education. In fact I'm pretty sure that if we moved to Taiwan and he was able to learn Mandarin and gain experience in that culture, he would have more job opportunities available to him than he would if he got a PhD. However, this option is definitely more risky and unstable. When we were finished there we would go through what we are going through now all over again. A period of time spent applying for job after job after job, never knowing what's going to happen next. Possibly having to stay with one of our parents again for a time while we get things sorted. But it would also be an adventure and the chance of a lifetime.

We are considering quite a few other options and I don't even know how many jobs Brent has applied for. We are anxious for something to happen and are working hard to develop patience even though we fail time and time again. Despite all that, I should mention that I am EXTREMELY grateful to be here, particularly with my parents at this moment in time. They experienced an incredible hardship recently that is not my business to share on here, but ohhhh, I am so glad that I was here when it happened. I might have had a nervous breakdown just thinking about it if I was away and unable to be here. I am so grateful to be exactly where I am. I know that sometimes there are reasons for things, including our having to wait on the edge of our seats for so long. I just need to keep reminding myself of that.

Road to Kabul

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:45:00 +0000

I have been blessed with the rare fortune of having been close to the same circle of friends for officially (as of last month) more than half of my life. This post is in honor of one of them.

I decided to take a summer job in California one year and upon telling Brenda, she said "I want to go too!" We spent the summer living and working in San Jose. It was a great summer, but we had our ups and downs. One night I told her I wasn't feeling particularly well, which was only partially true. I had a small headache, but really, I was just feeling grouchy. I laid down and Brenda sat next to me on the bed and asked if there was something she could do. I said no. But she continued with suggestions. "Would it help if I....", "What about....". I kept telling her no, waiting for her to leave me alone. Then she simply said "If there anything in the whole wide world I could do or get for you that would make you feel better, just say the word and I will do my best."

Now, it's not that what she said that struck me in that moment, it was how she said it. I knew that she meant it 100%. She is just that kind of person. I smiled and told her I would let her know, and then I laid there stunned, contemplating our friendship. She was such an amazing friend and I wondered what I had ever done to deserve her friendship, then I started realizing that the answer was-nothing. At least that was how I felt. She inspired me that night to be a better friend and a better person. I am so grateful for her.

Brenda has recently graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography and she is AMAZING! Her skill and talent is breath-taking. I have three links to her websites in my blog roll that you should defintely check out; "New Leaf Photography", "Brenda Manookin Photography" and a brand-spanking new one called "Road to Kabul". She is leaving tomorrow for Afghanistan with her co-worker John to shoot a Documentary and they will be blogging about the whole thing online. Well, at least that is their intention. I'm not going to be too disappointed if they are too busy to blog everything, but I'll still be following along.

Anyway, Brenda & John, Here's to you! Good Luck!

Imagine

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:50:00 +0000

Imagine that your family's future is completely up in the air. It's been months and you are having a difficult time not agonizing over the unknown. The suspense is killing you as you do everything you possibly can, but are always brought back to that same place where there is nothing you can do but wait and wait and wait and wait and wait and wait.

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes out of the blue with the perfect path for your family. Everyone is very excited and you happily start down this new path together. The most tremendous weight is lifted from your shoulders. You finally know what's going to happen next! You can now make specific plans and day dream about this new exciting adventure. You don't feel useless or stagnant anymore. Life is finally moving forward!!!!

Then the rug is pulled out from under you and your back where you started from. That's where I am now. We are not going to Taiwan. There was a "miscommunication" on their end about the contract they offered us. We heard from them last night apologizing about the mistake. They offered us a contract "C" in our dream location, which is exactly what we wanted. But it is actually a contract "A" which would not be enough hours and therefore pay.

So we are back at square one, even more clueless than we were before. I guess it could have been worse. I am so grateful that we didn't already pay for the flight! We were planning on doing that this morning. I'm pretty well over it by now, but man that was a hard blow.

This has been an extreme test of my patience. I want to do what Heavenly Father wants us to do and in his time, but it is so difficult not to rush things forward. This is definitely a learning experience.

Taiwan!

noreply@blogger.com (Loni's Argyle Socks) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:03:00 +0000

We are moving to Taiwan! As long as we can get all our paperwork taken care of in the next two weeks. I'll write more about it later.